A Change of a Cold Heart
by sourgrapesnape24
Summary: What would happen if Severus Snape takes in an abused Harry Potter to raise him as his own? Will the two bond and become great friends, or will all hell break lose? Set in the summer of Harry's second year. Becomes very fluffy over the course of the story. Rated T for abuse. Very OOC. Please review. :)
1. Chapter 1: Trouble at the Dursley's

A Change of a Cold Heart Ch 1

Life as Severus Snape was rough. First of all, he was a double agent, working for the Dark Lord and for Dumbledore. Second, he worked as a Potion's Master, when he didn't care at all about potions. Third, he was in charge of checking on bloody Harry Potter, Dumbledore's prince every week during the summer.

Snape sighed, removed his wizarding robes, and changed into his Muggle clothes. He left a note for his House-Elf Ellie to give to Dumbledore explaining where he had gone. He then left the castle to go to the Hogwarts Apration point that was for teachers.

Snape Apperated into Arabella Figg's house, and then took his Animagus form of a raven. Arabella opened a window for him, and he gracefully flew out of her house and landed in a tree next to Potter's open window. Normally Snape could see Harry outside working in the garden, or mowing the lawn. However Harry wasn't outside today. Snape could hear voices coming from inside, and they didn't sound happy.

"Uncle, please stop! I promise I'll finish next time!" a voice that sounded like Harry's pleaded.

"You're darn right you will!" screamed a second voice, presumably belonging to Harry's uncle.

There was then a loud crack, and an anguished scream followed by more pleads to stop.

"If you want it stopped, you will have to use your bloody abnormality to make it happen!" the second voice yelled.

There were then more loud cracks, followed by more screams, then only the cracks. Then there was silence. Snape slowly hopped through the open window and silently down the hall to find out what was happening. What he saw caused shock, and then red, boiling anger.

On the floor next to Harry's uncle was a belt covered in thick red blood, and next to it lay Harry's unconscious body. His uncle was hunched over him with a knife in hand. He seemed to be carving something into the boys back.

No matter how much he hated Harry, Snape couldn't let this happen to Lily's son. He flew into the room, and gave a loud cry to make himself known.

Vernon looked up. "Petunia! There's a big black bird! Get it out!" He yelled to his wife. But before either one of them could move, Snape took back his human form.

Petunia gasped. "You!" she hissed. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Dumbledore sent me to check on Harry, as he had a feeling that he wasn't getting the care he needed. Obviously he was right." Snape said, his eyes never leaving Petunia's. "How dare you do this to your sister's son?"

"She was a freak! He's a freak, and you're a freak! He didn't finish his chores for the third time this week, and this is a fair form of punishment for his kind!" She nearly yelled at the tall man with black hair.

"Well, if that is a fair punishment for a wizard, then this should be a fair punishment for you," Snape said in a dangerously low voice. He then pulled out his wand, and turned Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley, who had just walked into the room, into roaches. He quickly ran over to Harry, scooped him up and his arms and Apperated himself and the boy back to Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2: Harry's New Guardian

Snape arrived at Hogwarts with Harry in his arms and quickly ran to his quarters. He took his couch and conjured it into an examination table.

'_Lucky I know a little bit about healing with Poppy gone,' _Snape thought to himself as he gently set the boy down on his stomach. Severus gasped when he saw the damage that was done to the boy's back.

There were many bloody gashes on his back from the belt his uncle used on him, but what upset Snape the most was what was done with the knife. Carved into Harry's back was the word 'FREAK'. As much as he hated Potter, no child, especially Lily's, deserved this.

Snape ran to his private potion's lab, and fetched a skin salve and a potion to prevent infection. He quickly spread the salve over Harry's wounds and then spelled the potion straight into his stomach. In addition, he spelled a dreamless sleep draught into Harry's system, transfigured the table into a comfortable bed, and carefully tucked Harry under the covers.

Snape went into his own room, and was about to lay down himself when he noticed his clothing were covered in blood. He sighed, feeling annoyed with the boy for getting one of his only pairs of Muggle clothing dirty. Just as he was taking them off, a thought crept into the back of his mind.

'_You were abused just like that,'_ he thought. He quickly tried to shake the thought out of his head, but it was soon replaced with another, _'He can't stay with them. You know how much abuse hurts, mentally and physically,'_.

Snape couldn't handle this anymore. He knew his consciousness was right, but he didn't know what to do for the child child. He needed to speak to Dumbledore about this. He changed into his blood-free wizard robes. He walked over to his fireplace and grabbed some Floo Powder, and stepped in. "Head Master's Office!" he shouted.

Within seconds, he was standing in Dumbledore's office.

"Severus, what a pleasant surprise, what brings you to see me today? Would you care for a lemondrop?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, Albus. However there's something I think you should see," Snape said, leading Dumbledore over to the fireplace. The older man grabbed the younger man's arm as he yelled, "Severus Snape's Quarters!".

When the two men arrived, Harry was still sound asleep. Snape slowly pulled the covers off of Harry, and gently turned him from his side to his stomach.

He motioned for Dumbledore to come over, and stepped back for Dumbledore to have a proper look.

"Severus… How did this happen?" Dumbledore asked, in shock.

"Abuse, Albus. Potter wasn't able to finish his chores for the third time this week and this was his punishment. Do you still believe that the Dursley's are a good family for Harry to stay with?" Severus asked.

"But why?" Dumbledore asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't have a clue why he couldn't finish his chores. Probably because he is lazy," Snape started but was stopped by Dumbledore.

"No, why would they use this as a punishment?"

"Because he is a so-called 'freak'. They believed that the punishment was fitting. However, this was no simple punishment." Snape stated, looking at Dumbledore. "Do you honestly believe he can live with these people until he's seventeen? He only finished his first year,"

"No, he cannot stay with these people, however I am far too old to take him in, and Minerva is too. I honestly don't know who else would be a suitable guardian for him," Dumbledore said sighing.

_'You promised to take care of him,'_ Snape thought. _'You promised her, Lily,'_.

"I'll take him in. I will be his guardian. He can stay in my quarters with me during the summer and in his common room during the school year." Snape said.

"Severus, you hate him," Dumbledore pointed out.

"I do not hate him, I merely find him too much like his father, who I hate. However, I promised Lily to look after Harry and to protect him." Snape said, looking over at Harry's beat up back and wondering what Lily would do to Petunia for this.

"Alright. Can you go collect his things? And inform him of our decision when he wakes up?" Dumbledore asked Snape.

"Of course, Head Master," Snape replied.

Dumbledore nodded his head, and then turned to leave. Once standing in the fireplace, he looked at Snape and said, "I know you'll make a great father," before returning to his office.

Snape looked to Harry, and thought, _'This is going to be a long summer…'_.


	3. Chapter 3: Harry's New Home

When Harry woke up seven hours later in the middle of the night, noticing that his back didn't hurt too much from Uncle Vernon's beating. He found this quite strange, considering the usual amount of pain he is in afterwards.

Harry opened his eyes, expecting to be in his room. However, this was not his room. The room he was in was large and painted a light blue with a dark blue contrast.

Harry started to panic. He didn't know where he was, and why he was there. He noticed a man to his side sitting in a chair. The man looked a lot like his Potion's teacher, Professor Snape. This couldn't be Snape, though. Why would he be with Harry, his least favorite student in the middle of June?

The man looked over at Harry, hearing him stir. "Hello, Mr. Potter? How are you feeling?" the man asked. His voice sounded exactly like Snape's. But could it be?

"Professor Snape?" Harry asked quietly, not sure of the answer he would receive.

"Yes, Potter, I am Professor Snape. I'm sure you're wondering where you are," Snape replied.

"Yes, Sir, and, not to be rude, but why are you here?" Harry asked, even more quietly than before.

"It has been my responsibility to check on you during the summer, to make sure you're doing well. Orders of Professor Dumbledore. When I arrived at your house yesterday, I heard you screaming and a loud cracking that sounded like they came from a belt hitting something hard. I came inside and saw your uncle beating you and using a knife on you, however you had already lost consciousness by the time I reached you. I couldn't leave you there, so I brought you back to Hogwarts with me. You are in my private quarters." Snape explained.

"Sir… I thought you hated me… Why would you rescue me from my aunt and uncle?" Harry asked.

Snape sighed, and started into his explanation. "I do not hate you. You are very arrogant, stubborn, and a trouble maker, like your father. You know that your father and I didn't get along, however that is beside the point. Your mother was my best friend and still remains to this day my best friend. I promised her I would look after you, and now is my time to do so. However there is something you need to know,"

"What's that, Sir?" Harry questioned.

"Since I couldn't leave you with your aunt and uncle, I have now become your legal guardian," Snape told Harry.

"You… are my guardian?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes, meaning we need to get over our differences and try to get along. For your sake and mine." Snape said.

Harry was in shock. He never had to go back to the Dursleys. But living with Snape? He didn't know how he felt about this.

"Wow…. Thank you for taking me in. I promise, I'll try to stay out of your way, and to be as well behaved as possible," Harry said.

"You're welcome. Now it's the middle of the night, and your wounds aren't completely better yet. You and I both need to get some sleep. Before you fall asleep though, I need to add more wound salve to your back. Could you roll over?" Snape asked Harry.

Harry slowly rolled over onto his stomach, and Snape gently lifted his shirt up to expose the healing wounds.

"Let me know if I hurt you," Snape instructed the boy while gently applying the salve to the wounds.

Harry sighed in relief as he felt the cooling relief of the medicine. When Snape had finished applying the salve, he pulled Harry's shirt back down, and instructed the boy to roll back over onto his back and sit up. Once Harry had done so, Snape handed him a phial full of light green liquid.

"Drink this, it will prevent your wounds from getting infected," Snape instructed.

Harry drank the potion, making a face at the unpleasant taste. "Thank you, Sir, for taking care of me," Harry said, looking at his bed covers.

"You're welcome, Mr. Potter. I am going to bed now, and you need to do the same. I'll leave my bedroom door open so if you need me, just shout," Snape told Harry.

"Alright," he replied. "Goodnight, Sir."

"Goodnight, Mr. Potter. Sleep well." Snape instructed the boy, and retreated to his bedroom for a well-deserved sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Harry's Nightmare

A week had passed, and Harry's wounds had faded to scars. While he was physically healed from his experiences with the Dursleys, he was not mentally healed.

Snape was sleeping soundly in his bedroom when he heard screams coming from outside of his room. Snape quickly jumped up to find out what was going on. When he entered the room he added for Harry, he found that the boy was having a vivid nightmare.

"No uncle, please! I'll be good!" he screamed into his pillow.

"Harry! Harry, wake up! You're uncle isn't here! Please wake up!" Snape pleaded. After several failed attempts to wake the child, he spelled a calming draught right into the child's stomach and watched it take effect.

Harry's sobs slowly began to soften until he was lightly crying. He then woke up shaking.

"Harry, are you okay?" Snape asked a scared Harry, unaware that he had called him by his first name.

"Sir, did I wake you?" Harry asked. "I'm so sorry, I was having a nightmare,"

"You woke me, but it's okay. Do you want to talk about it? It might help," the older wizard suggested.

Harry, still shaking, sighed and started describing his dream. "I didn't finish mowing the lawn, or tending to the garden because my uncle had me do three coats of paint on the fence, and he got mad at me and started beating me. But then his face turned into the one on the back of Quirrell's head… My uncle turned into Voldemort… and he continued to beat me. It was really scary…"

Snape sighed, and started rubbing Harry's back. "I can imagine it was scary. Especially the part about Voldemort. My father used to beat me, and it isn't pleasant. However, just remember, you're safe at Hogwarts. Nobody here wants to hurt you or is going to hurt you. I would never beat you, Harry. No matter how mean I may seem, I really do care about you." Snape reassured Harry.

"Do you really mean that? I had been wondering why you had been so nice to me while I've been here," Harry asked.

"Of course I mean it. I seem mean in class and in the Great Hall and in the corridors because I didn't want anyone knowing that it was my job to look after you and make sure you were safe. I didn't want anyone to make fun of you, especially the Slytherins. I understand they can be a mean group of kids," Snape explained, giving Harry a tired smile.

"I never knew that… Thank you, Sir. I'm sorry for waking you up so late at night. You can go back to sleep, if you want." Harry offered.

"Are you okay to go back to sleep, or do you want me to stay with you?" Snape asked, eying the child.

Harry looked away. He softly said, "If you don't mind…"

"Let's go to the couch," Snape suggested. "You can sleep there and I can sleep on the recliner,"

"Alright, that sounds fine, thank you," Harry said as Snape was leading him into the living room

The two wizards settled in, and started to fall asleep. Before Snape could fully fall asleep, a soft voice penetrated his ears.

"Goodnight, dad," Harry said.

Snape was in shock. _'Does he really think of me as a dad?'_ he asked himself, very surprised to hear those words come out of Harry's mouth.

"Goodnight, son," Snape responded. It felt weird saying it, but it felt so right. Harry Potter, son of Severus Snape.

_'Don't worry, Lily, I'll take good care of him. I'll make sure he has a good home with a loving father.' _And that's exactly what Snape intended on giving Harry.


	5. Chapter 5: The Trip to Diagon Ally

Snape woke up in the morning, with a completely new attitude towards Harry. When Snape had said that he had always cared for Harry, that wasn't true. When Snape realized that Harry was more like Lily than James, and when Snape saw the true Harry while taking care of him, he realized that he did, in fact, really care for Harry. He decided that he was going to show it.

He fixed a breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon and waffles for the two wizards to eat. Once everything was prepared, Snape woke Harry up to join him.

Harry took one look at the table full of food, and was astounded. Since Harry had been in bed the whole first week at Snape's quarters recovering from Vernon's attack, Harry hadn't shared a proper meal with his new guardian.

"Wow, this looks incredible! Did Ellie bring this from the kitchen?" Harry asked.

"No, I prepared this myself. Since today is our first official day together that you don't have to spend in bed recovering, I figured we could get to know each other a bit better over a good breakfast." Snape explained.

"That sounds great!" Harry exclaimed. The two wizards sat down at the table and helped themselves to the great food Snape made.

The two conversed for an hour while eating, talking about their childhood, and how Harry's aunt and uncle treated him. Harry went into detail about the large amounts of work he had to do, and the meager amount of food he received. Among from that, they discovered that they had a lot in common, like a mutual love for Quidditch.

"Would you like to go flying sometime? We could play some one-on-one Quidditch sometime," Snape suggested.

"That sounds great!" Harry agreed. "When do you want to play?"

"Maybe this evening? I was thinking today we could retrieve your trunk and belongings from the Dursley's and then go shopping in Diagon Alley," Snape said.

"Okay, but won't the Dursley's be upset when they see me? I bet they're quite glad I'm gone," Harry said, looking at the ground.

"Oh, they'll get over it," Snape said.

The two exited the castle and went to the Apparation Point and Apperated to the Dursleys. Once there, Harry and Snape entered the house, and Snape used the Alohamora charm to open Harry's cupboard under the stairs to retrieve his belongings. Snape then instructed Harry to wait outside while he checked something.

Snape whispered to his wand 'Point Me' and his want showed him to three small roaches in a corner of the kitchen. Snape transformed them back to their human selves, only to speak to them in a dangerously low voice.

"So, have we learned our lesson?" Snape asked.

The three Dursleys, obviously too afraid to speak, merely shook their heads in agreement.

"Good," Snape said. With a flick of his want, they turned into maggots. "The roaches were for his beating. This is for treating him terribly his entire life." Snape said. Without another word, he left through the door, his robes dramatically billowing behind him.

Snape walked to Harry, and the two wizards Apperated to Diagon Ally to begin a fun day of shopping.

"Can we stop at Gringott's? I don't have any wizarding money with me," Harry explained.

"No," Snape replied. "Since I'm your guardian, I am in charge of providing for you, and buying you what I think is necessary."

"Oh, you don't have to buy me extra things," Harry said.

"Don't worry, I want to." Snape said, giving Harry a smile.

"Would you like to start in Flourish and Blott's?" Snape asked. Harry agreed.

The two wizards enjoyed each other's presence as they happily shopped together and enjoyed lunch together. Snape had bought Harry some books on potions, flying, Quidditch, and Dark Art's defense, while Snape had bought some more advanced potions books. They had bought Snape some new Cauldrons for his private Potion's Lab, and visited the Apothecary for some potion's ingredients that Harry would need in his second year.

After the two finished shopping, they returned to the castle for a quick dinner, then a game of Quidditch.

They had to keep each other from scoring, and after a while, they released the Snitch, which had to be caught to end the game. Harry barely caught it before Snape.

"Wow, you are a really good flyer!" Harry complimented Snape.

"Thank you, you are very good for a second year," Snape replied. "How about we head inside? It's getting dark, and was wondering if you had ever played Wizard's Chess?"

"I have, but I'm very bad at it," Harry explained. "Could you help me?"

Snape chuckled, and said, "We'll see."

The two wizards headed inside, and played Wizard's Chess until they couldn't hold their eyelids open any longer, and then retreated to bed. Snape was glad about what a great day he had with his new son, and Harry was very pleased to for the first time in almost twelve years, have a first fatherly figure in his life.


	6. Chapter 6: Harry's Favorite Birthday

A month full of books, Quidditch, and good conversation passed for Snape and Harry, and soon it was his birthday.

"Well, since your twelfth birthday is next week, what would you like to do to celebrate?" Snape asked.

Harry looked at him in shock. He had never done anything for his birthday, let alone received anything except for his beloved owl, Hedwig. "Oh, I've never done anything for my birthday…"

Snape sighed, trying to release the surge of anger towards the Dursleys. "Well let's change that. We could see if your friends would like to come, or would you like to spend the day in Hogsmeade?"

"Could we possibly see if Ron and Hermione could come? Maybe Fred and George Weasley also?" Harry asked. "If you don't mind the two of them coming,"

"Of course not. If I did, I wouldn't have suggested it. Could you send Hermione an owl seeing if she could come? I'll Floo Call the Weasley's." Snape said.

Harry nodded and started scribbling out a note to Hermione as Snape Floo Called the Weasley's. Once Harry had given Hedwig the letter to send to Hermione and Snape was finished with his call, the two wizards played a game of Wizard's Chess.

Before they knew it, it was Harry's birthday. Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Hermione flew around Hogwarts' grounds, played Quidditch with Snape so they would have even teams, and played Exploding Snape among with other wizard's games.

When it came time for cake and presents, Snape brought out a large vanilla cake shaped like a Snitch. His friends gave him his presents, which consisted of books on different kinds of wands from Hermione, some Honeyduke's sweets from Ron, and assorted pranking items from the twins.

"Wow, guys! These are amazing, every single one of them! Thank you so much!" Harry said, astounded at the presents he had received.

"Harry, You forgot one," Snape pointed out. There was an envelope on the corner of the table where the presents had been sitting. Hermione handed it to Harry. He opened it, thinking it would be a simple birthday card. However, it was an adoption certificate.

Harry gasped, and looked to Snape. There was one line not filled out, and that was for the guardian to sign to become the adoptive parent.

"You… you want to adopt me?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes. I would like to be your adoptive parent, your father," Snape said gently, giving Harry a smile. "Unless you wouldn't want me to."

Harry returned the smile. "Of course I want you to. "

Snape signed the certificate, and it rolled itself up, and with a pop, vanished.

"Its on its way to the Ministry of Magic to become finalized," Snape explained.

Harry quickly got up and pulled Snape into a hug. "Thank you for the best present ever. I can't ever thank you enough. I love you, dad,"

Snape hugged back as Harry's four friends cheered and clapped for Harry, for finally getting the father he deserved. "I love you too, Harry."

"I guess even the coldest of hearts can change," Fred whispered to his two brothers and Hermione. Snape and Harry overheard, and Snape gave the red-headed boy a playful smirk.

Harry spent the rest of the evening eating cake, playing with his friends, and enjoying spending time with his new father.

'_I couldn't have asked for a better father,' _Harry thought to himself.

'_I couldn't have asked for a better son,' _Snape thought.

_The End_


End file.
